"Berries vs. Pesticides in Parkinson’s Disease"
In the original description of Parkinson’s disease,
by none other than Dr. James Parkinson himself,
he described a characteristic feature of the disease:
constipation, torpid or lethargic bowels,
which may precede the diagnosis by many years.
In fact, bowel movement frequency
may be predictive.
Men with less than daily bowel movements
were four times more likely to develop Parkinson’s
an average of 12 years later.
Now this could just be a really early symptom
of the disease tied to decreased water intake.
Many Parkinson’s patients report never really feeling
very thirsty, and maybe that led to the constipation
—or, alternately, the constipation may increase
the risk of Parkinson’s disease,
as constipation results in a longer stay of the waste
in the bowel and thus more absorption
of potential neurotoxins from the diet.
Yes, there are two studies suggesting an association
between constipation and Parkinson’s,
but at the same time there are 38 studies
linking the disease to pesticide exposure.
And by now more than a hundred studies
linking pesticides to an increased risk of up to 80%.
Now many of these studies are on occupational exposure,
like farmworkers, who may reduce their risk of Parkinson’s
by wearing gloves and washing their clothes.
But Parkinson’s has also been linked
to ambient exposure.
Approximately a billion pounds of pesticides
are applied annually in the US,
and just living or working in high spray areas
may increase Parkinson’s risk.
And the same with using pesticides in the home.
I didn’t realize how common household pesticide use was,
but this study out of UCLA
suggests it might not be such a good idea.
Pesticides may cause DNA mutations
that increase susceptibility for the disease
or play a more direct role.
See many neurodegenerative diseases appear to be caused
by the buildup of misfolded proteins.
In Alzheimer’s, it’s the protein amyloid beta,
in Creutzfeldt–Jakob and mad cow disease it’s prions,
in Huntington’s, it’s a different protein,
and in Parkinson’s disease it's a protein called alpha synuclein.
And a variety of pesticides—
8 out of the 12 they tested—
were able to trigger synuclein accumulation
in human nerve cells, at least in a petri dish.
The buildup of synuclein may play a role
in killing off specialized nerve cells in the brain,
70% of which are gone by the time
the first symptoms arise.
Pesticides are so good at killing these neurons
that pesticides are used
to try to recreate Parkinson's disease in lab animals.
Is there any way to stop the process?
Well, there’s no drugs yet
that can prevent this protein aggregation.
What about flavonoid phytonutrients,
natural compounds found in certain fruits and vegetables?
They can cross the blood-brain barrier
and may have neuroprotective effects.
So they tested 48 different plant compounds
to see if any could stop the clumping
of synuclein proteins into the little fibers
that clog up the cell.
And they found a variety of flavonoids
that cannot only inhibit the spiderweb-like formation
of synuclein fibers,
but some could even break them up.
Turns out flavonoids may actually bind
to synuclein proteins and stabilize them.
Here’s some healthy brain cells;
the arrows are pointed to the neurites,
the arms that nerve cells use to communicate
with each other.
Here’s after exposure to a pesticide, though.
The cell is damaged, retracts its little arms.
But if you first incubate the nerve cells
with a blueberry extract the nerve cell appears better able
to withstand the pesticide effects.
So this implies that flavonoids in our diet
may be combatting Parkinson’s disease as we speak,
and healthy diets may be effective in preventing
and even "curing" the disorder.
But these were all petri dish experiments in a laboratory.
Is there any evidence,
that people EATING berries are protected from Parkinson’s?
There was this study, published forever ago,
that suggested the consumption of blueberries and strawberries
was protective, but this was a tiny study
and the results were not statistically significant,
which is why I never brought up the study before.
But that was the best we had…
until now.
Those eating a variety of phytonutrients
were less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease,
specifically, higher intake of berries,
was associated with significantly lower risk.
The accompanying editorial,
"An Apple a Day to Prevent Parkinson Disease",
concluded that more research is necessary,
but until then, an apple a day might be a good idea.
Of course this is coming from a man.
Apples appeared to be protective against Parkinson’s
for men, but not women,
however, everyone appeared to benefit from the berries.
We just may not want to have our berries with cream,
as the milk supply may be contaminated
with the same kind of neurotoxic
pesticide residues found in the brains
of Parkinson’s disease victims.